laptop recommendations?

[ramseszerg]

Budget: $800-1300

In order of importance:
1. Battery life
2. Portability
3. Performance

Any laptops you guys recommend? Thanks alot in advance!

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

ramsezerg,
check out the specs on 'MacBooks' (Intel-versions)

 

[LanEvo]

man dude thats a very nice budget for a laptop that fits what u need, imo u can get one in the $600 price range for ur needs, and id reccomend a Lenovo, id say the Y550, 15.6" sceensize, with the new LED screens, with a T6600 processor, thats my reccomendation but for the price range u can get mor epowerful laptops as well, but battery life will only be around 2hrs. tops, the Y550 gets about 5-6hrs. if i recall, and its very portable, about 6lbs., but u need smaller u can downgrade to another setup with a 14", but i think around 15" is very nice, bc those 17"s are huge

 

[RD 7]

ramsezerg,
check out the specs on 'MacBooks' (Intel-versions)

Ramsy,

I currently use both a mac and a PC.

My Mac is a Star 5 and my PC is a drop weight flying clamp in the @nus of a baboon.

 

[snoopy]

You could get 3 laptops for $1300.

What do you intend to use your laptop for? What size screen do you want?

Gaming laptops will be the most expensive.

Ultra portable mini laptops are very cheap but they have limited internal memory and they aren't good for things like watching video.

 

[ramseszerg]

I'm going to be using it for taking notes in classes mainly. I have an alienware which I'll be keeping at home for more heavy computing. Ideal screen size is 13.3, but I can consider 12 or 14 as well. In terms of performance I want something mid-range that won't be too slow but won't eat up battery life too much either.. (which I dont know too much about) Thanks guys, I appreciate all your help.

 

[william7gr]

Get the cheapest Macbook pro. If your a college student you get $100 off.

 

[snoopy]

I'm going to be using it for taking notes in classes mainly. I have an alienware which I'll be keeping at home for more heavy computing. Ideal screen size is 13.3, but I can consider 12 or 14 as well. In terms of performance I want something mid-range that won't be too slow but won't eat up battery life too much either.. (which I dont know too much about) Thanks guys, I appreciate all your help.

A lot of ppl use microsoft One Note to take notes in class. It's more flexible than Word. What do mac owners use?

If you are concerned about battery life, buying a backup battery is a must.

I don't know too much about mini computers and have no experience with them. The mini computers I've seen, just walking through stores or briefly looking online, are as cheap as $300.

 

[Alec78]

Go with a Mac. You won't regret it.

The other day, I brought my 4+ year-old Mac into the Apple Store because I was having trouble installing iWork. Installation kept quitting halfway through. Well, it turns out my hard drive was quitting on me - after more than four years. So Apple gave me a brand new one, twice as large, for $0.00. And that was the very first problem of any kind I've had with this machine. Try getting a Windows machine's hard drive to last over four years without crashing once or just flat-out dying for good.

I'm not even an "Apple" guy. I don't have an iPod, iPhone or i-anything else. But when it comes to computing, I don't think Windows holds a candle to Mac in terms of reliability, ease of use, customer service and long-term cost of ownership. There's no calling Geek Squad or hauling your Mac into Office Depot to get it repaired. It's one-stop shopping with Apple, sort of like buying a new car and taking it back to the dealer when you need it serviced, minus getting ripped off.

 

[Vyse]

can anyone tell me if a toshiba satellite m505-s4940 will play dragon age origins well?

To answer your question, you will be able to find plenty of laptops with your price range and get probably more than what you originally want. I recommend toshiba, HP, Dell. Make sure to research up on everything and get Windows 7 if your not gettng a Mac

 

[jmjmkim]

If it's for taking notes and browsing internet, get one of those "Net Books" for $299 or so. They are aewsome. (Although you might need to buy an external DVD drive.

Otherwise, after being a long time PC user, I now favor the iMac (desktop) over PC desktops. I also have the MacBook Pro (laptop) and it is awesome!

 

[edberg505]

Go with a Mac. You won't regret it.

The other day, I brought my 4+ year-old Mac into the Apple Store because I was having trouble installing iWork. Installation kept quitting halfway through. Well, it turns out my hard drive was quitting on me - after more than four years. So Apple gave me a brand new one, twice as large, for $0.00. And that was the very first problem of any kind I've had with this machine. Try getting a Windows machine's hard drive to last over four years without crashing once or just flat-out dying for good.

I'm not even an "Apple" guy. I don't have an iPod, iPhone or i-anything else. But when it comes to computing, I don't think Windows holds a candle to Mac in terms of reliability, ease of use, customer service and long-term cost of ownership. There's no calling Geek Squad or hauling your Mac into Office Depot to get it repaired. It's one-stop shopping with Apple, sort of like buying a new car and taking it back to the dealer when you need it serviced, minus getting ripped off.

Get the cheapest Macbook pro. If your a college student you get $100 off.

Ramsy,

I currently use both a mac and a PC.

My Mac is a Star 5 and my PC is a drop weight flying clamp in the @nus of a baboon.

ramsezerg,
check out the specs on 'MacBooks' (Intel-versions)

Listen to them. Stay away from PCs, they are bad for your health. Your stress level will increase exponentially the moment you open that box.

 

[ramseszerg]

I'm concerned about the time it would take to get used to an Apple.. Also, would I have any troubles sharing data between my main PC and a macbook? Anything from word files, excel, MRI images.. would a macbook pro run certain programs that a PC does, like ImageJ, DicomWorks, SPSS, etc.. The macbook would be perfect for me, its specs are awesome, but I'm just a little cautious. Again, thanks for all the help.